Leg brace

ABSTRACT

A leg brace which limits turning of the foot with respect to the leg in one direction only. A substantially L-shaped support member has a substantially horizontal wall portion adapted to be fixed to the sole of a shoe and an upright wall portion adapted to extend upwardly along the outer side of a shoe. An elongated bar structure is pivotally connected to the upright wall portion for swinging movement with respect thereto and extends up to an elevation located beneath the knee where a band is carried by the bar structure for attaching the latter to the leg beneath the knee. A stop is provided on the upright wall portion for limiting and swinging of the bar structure in one direction only, and an adjusting structure is provided for adjusting the angle of the bar structure when the latter engages the stop.

[ 1 May 15, 1973 [54] LEG BRACE [75] Inventor: Salvatore Golia, Middle Village,

[73] Assignee: Corona Surgical Appliances Corporation, Corona, NY.

[22] Filed: May 28, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 147,984

[52] US. Cl. ..128/80 E [5 1] Int. Cl. ..A6lf 5/00 [58] Field of Search ..l28/80 R, 80 E, 80 F, 128/581 [56] References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 205,628 4/1921 Canada ..l28/8O E OTHER PUBLICATIONS Pope Foundation, Braces Today Sept. 1948 p. 2.

Pope Foundation, Braces Today Dec. 1947 p. 3.

Primary Examiner-Lawrence W. Trapp Attorney-Steinberg & Blake [57] ABSTRACT A leg brace which limits turning of the foot with respect to the leg in one direction only. A substantially L-shaped support member has a substantially horizontal wall portion adapted to be fixed to the sole of a shoe and an upright wall portion adapted to extend upwardly along the outer side of a shoe. An elongated bar structure is pivotally connected to the upright wall portion for swinging movement with respect thereto and extends up to an elevation located beneath the knee where a band is carried by the bar structure for attaching the latter to the leg beneath the knee. A stop is provided on the upright wall portion for limiting and swinging of the bar structure in one direction only, and an adjusting structure is provided for adjusting the angle of the bar structure when the latter engages the stop.

4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEU 51973 3,732,862

INVENTOR. SALVATORE GOLIA A TT OR NE Y5 LEG BRACE The present invention relates to leg braces.

In particular, the present invention relates to leg braces of the type used to alleviate what is known as the dropped foot condition. In this condition the tendons extending upwardly from the heel are fairly tight. Such braces are designed to permit raising the toe end of the foot with respect to the leg while limiting the extent to which the toe end of the foot can swing downwardly.

Although leg braces of this general type are known, it is difficult to adapt them to the characteristics of a particular individual who wears the leg brace. The reason for this is that such leg braces are designed for a given average individual, and the result is when the foot has swung down to the limit permitted by the leg brace, the foot may not be in the best possible position with respect to the leg.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is accordingly a primary object of the present invention to provide a leg brace which will solve the above problem.

In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a leg brace with an adjusting structure which permits the leg brace to be adjusted in accordance with the characteristics of the wearer of the leg brace, so that when the leg brace limits the downward movement of the foot with respect to the leg the foot will be situated in the best possible position with respect to the leg.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a construction which will solve the above problem while at the same time being exceedingly simple and inexpensive, and in particular while being devoid of complexities such as springs which will permit yieldable movement of components, and various types of complex adjusting structures which only create problems in themselves.

According to the invention the leg brace includes a support means adapted to be fixed to a shoe and having an upright wall portion for extending upwardly along the outer side of a shoe. An elongated bar means is pivotally connected to the support means, its upright wall portion, and extends upwardly beyond this wall portion to a region beneath the knee where the bar means carries a band means adapted to surround the leg for fastening of the bar means thereto. A stop means is provided on the support means to limit the swinging of the bar means in one direction only. In addition, an adjusting means is provided for adjusting the angle of the bar means when it is in engagement with the stop means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS tion provided:

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of another embodiment of a leg brace according to the invention:

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of a further embodiment of a leg brace according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings, the leg brace illustrated therein includes a support means 10 in the form of a substantially L-shaped bracket member which may be made of any suitable metal, for example. This support means It) has a substantial horizontal wall portion l2 which is adapted to be fixed in any suitable way to the sole of a shoe 14 shown in phantom lines in FIG. 1. This horizontal wall portion 12 of this support means 10 will be located just in front of the heel end of the shoe.

The support means includes an upright wall portion 16 adapted to extend upwardly along the outer side of the shoe so that the brace structure is located at the outer side of the leg.

A pivot pin 18 serves to pivotally connect to the upright wall portion 16 a lower bar portion 20 of substantially triangular configuration terminating in the lower end portion 22. The vertical-wall portion 16 fixedly carries a stop pin 24 forming a stop means for engaging the lower end region 22 of the bar portion 20 for a purpose referred to below.

A second elongated bar portion 26 forms with the bar portion 20 and elongated bar means. This elongated bar portion 26 is also pivotally connected by pivot 18 to the upright wall portions 16, so that both of the bar portions 20 and 26 have a common pivot axis with respect to the upright wall portion 16. The elongated bar means 20, 26 extends up to a region located just beneath the knee of the wearer, and at its upper end region bar portion 26 fixedly carries a band means 28 in the form of any suitable flexible band fixed in any suitable way to the top end of the bar 26 and having a suitable buckle or the like so that the band 28 can surround the leg of the wearer just beneath the knee for fastening the bar means 20, 26 to the leg of the wearer for swinging movement with the leg.

An adjusting means is provided for adjusting the angle of the bar means when it engages the stop 24. In the example of FIGS. l and 2 this adjusting means includes a plurality of openings 32 formed along the upper edge region of bar portion 20, along a circle whose center is in the axis of pivot 18. These openings 32 are internally threaded so that they are capable of receiving threads of a screw 30 which passes through an opening in the bar portion 26. Thus, the bar portion 26 can be swung with respect to the bar portion 20 and then the screw 30 can be threaded into a selected opening 32 after passing through the opening of the bar 26, so that in this way the angle of the bar 26 with respect to the bar 20 can be adjusted.

With the structure described above and shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the pivot 18 will be located at the elevation of the ankle. The wearer of the shoe 14 will be able to turn his foot together with the shoe l4 downwardly with respect to the leg until the lower end region 22 of the bar portion 20 and stop pin 24 engage each other. However, it will be noted that there is no limit on the upward turning of the shoe 114 in a clockwise direction,

-viewed in FIG. 1, about the pin 18.

When the brace of the invention is first worn the screw 30 will be removed and the angle between the bar portions 28 and 26 will be selected in accordance with the characteristics of the particular individual wearing the brace so as to be most comfortable for the individual, providing the best possible angle for the foot and shoe 14 when the stop 24 is engaged by the lower end region 22 of the bar portion 2!). With the bar 26 now adjusted with respect to the bar 20 the screw 34) will be introduced through the opening of the bar 26 into the closest opening 32 for maintaining the brace in its adjusted position.

The embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in FIG. 3 is similar to that of FIG. 2. The only difference is that there is no stop pin 24!- and the bar portion 20 is replaced by bar portion 20a which differs from bar portion 20 in that it has no lower end region 22. instead the bar portion 20a has an extension 34 which forms a tongue for engaging the edge region 35 of the vertical wall portion 16 of the support means 10. This extension 34 need only have a substantially L-shaped configuration so that it terminates in a relatively short portion overlapping the edge 35 and adapted to engage the latter when the parts are in the position shown in FIG. 3.

Thus, with this construction it is unnecessary to provide a separate stop pin 24. Instead the stop means is formed by the edge region 35 of the wall portion 16, and the lower bar portion 20a still has a lower end region 34 forengaging the stop means 35 so as to function in exactly the same way as described above in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2.

According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the elongated bar 26 is replaced by an elongated bar 26a which is pivotally connected by a pivot, such as the pin 18, to the upright wall portion 16' of the support means 10. In this embodiment the bar means is formed by the single elongated bar 26a. This bar carries at its top end the band means 28 identical with that of FIG. 1. The bar means 26a terminates at its lower end in the end portion 40 which is adapted to engage the stop member 38 which forms the stop means of this embodiment.

With this embodiment the upright wall portion 16' of the stop means has extensions 42 and is formed with a series of threaded openings 36 extending along a circle whose center is in the turning axis provided by the pivot 18'. The stop means 38 is in the form of a pin having a threaded shank adapted to be selectedly received in one of these threaded openings 36. Thus, with this embodiment while a single one-piece bar 26a is used, it is still possible to selectively locate the stop 38 in a selected one of the openings 36 to provide the best possible angle of the bar 26a with respect to the wall portion 16 of the support means. Otherwise the embodiment of FIG. 4 also is identical with those described above.

As apparent from the above description, the structure of the invention is exceedingly simple and highly effective, as well as being very reliable in operation. Furthermore the adjustments are extremely convenient to carry out. All of the embodiments function to limit the swinging of the foot in one direction, as is required to alleviate the dropped foot condition, at the same time releasing the foot for movement in the opposite direction as much as desired so that the tendons can be stretched. The adjustment of the angle of the elongated bar means when it engages the stop means can be very conveniently carried out through a simple, rapid manipulation, and it will be noted that with the structure of the invention there are no complications involving the use of springs or complex adjusting assemblies, so

that the structure of the invention can be readily manufactured at low cost while at the same time producing the desired results in a most effective way.

What is claimed is:

ll. A leg brace comprising support means adapted to be connected to a shoe and having an upright wall portion extending upwardly along the outer side of a shoe when said support means is fixed to the shoe, elongated bar means pivotally connected to said wall portion of said support means for extending pivotally therefrom upwardly along the outside of a leg, said bar means having an upper end region adapted to be located below the knee, band means carried by said bar means at its upper end region for surrounding a leg below the knee, stop means carried by said upright wall portion of said support means and coacting with said bar means for limiting the turning thereof in one direction while releasing said bar means for free swinging movement in an opposite direction, and adjusting means coacting with said bar means for adjusting the angular position thereof when said bar means is in engagement with said stop means, said bar means including a pair of bar portions both of which are pivoted to said upright wall portion of said support means for swinging movement about a common axis with respect thereto, one of said bar portions extending lower than the other and having a free end portion for engaging said stop means and the other of said bar portions extending higher than said one bar portion and carrying said band means, said adjusting means including a series of openings formed in said one bar portion along a circle whose center is in the common turning axis of said bar portions and a member for releasably fixing said other bar portion to said one bar portion in a selected one of said openings.

2. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said stop means includes a stop pin carried by said upright wall portion, said one bar portion having a lower free end engaging said pin for limiting turning of said bar means in one direction.

3. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said stop means is formed by an upright edge region of said upright wall portion, said one bar portion having an extension which engages said edge region for limiting the turning of said bar means in one direction.

4. A leg brace comprising support means adapted to be connected to a shoe and having an upright wall portion extending upwardly along the outer side of a shoe when said support means is fixed to the shoe, elongated bar means pivotally connected to said wall portion of said support means for extending pivotally therefrom upwardly along the outside of a leg, said bar means having an upper end region adapted to be located below the knee, band means carried by said bar means at its upper end region for surrounding a leg below the knee, stop means carried by said upright wall portion of said support means and coacting with said bar means for limiting the turning thereof in one direction while releasing said bar means for free swinging movement in an opposite direction, and adjusting means coacting with said bar means for adjusting the angular position thereof when said bar means is in engagement with said stop means, said bar means being in the form of a single elongated bar pivotally connected to said upright wall portion, said adjusting means including a part of said upright wall portion formed with a series of openings situated along a circle whose center is in the turning axis of said bar means with respect to said wall portion, and a stop member forming said stop means and selectively located in one of said openings for engaging a lower free end portion of said bar means to limit the turning of the latter in one direction.

* =l a: i 2: 

1. A leg brace comprising support means adapted to be connected to a shoe and having an upright wall portion extending upwardly along the outer side of a shoe when said support means is fixed to the shoe, elongated bar means pivotally connected to said wall portion of said support means for extending pivotally therefrom upwardly along the ouTside of a leg, said bar means having an upper end region adapted to be located below the knee, band means carried by said bar means at its upper end region for surrounding a leg below the knee, stop means carried by said upright wall portion of said support means and coacting with said bar means for limiting the turning thereof in one direction while releasing said bar means for free swinging movement in an opposite direction, and adjusting means coacting with said bar means for adjusting the angular position thereof when said bar means is in engagement with said stop means, said bar means including a pair of bar portions both of which are pivoted to said upright wall portion of said support means for swinging movement about a common axis with respect thereto, one of said bar portions extending lower than the other and having a free end portion for engaging said stop means and the other of said bar portions extending higher than said one bar portion and carrying said band means, said adjusting means including a series of openings formed in said one bar portion along a circle whose center is in the common turning axis of said bar portions and a member for releasably fixing said other bar portion to said one bar portion in a selected one of said openings.
 2. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said stop means includes a stop pin carried by said upright wall portion, said one bar portion having a lower free end engaging said pin for limiting turning of said bar means in one direction.
 3. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said stop means is formed by an upright edge region of said upright wall portion, said one bar portion having an extension which engages said edge region for limiting the turning of said bar means in one direction.
 4. A leg brace comprising support means adapted to be connected to a shoe and having an upright wall portion extending upwardly along the outer side of a shoe when said support means is fixed to the shoe, elongated bar means pivotally connected to said wall portion of said support means for extending pivotally therefrom upwardly along the outside of a leg, said bar means having an upper end region adapted to be located below the knee, band means carried by said bar means at its upper end region for surrounding a leg below the knee, stop means carried by said upright wall portion of said support means and coacting with said bar means for limiting the turning thereof in one direction while releasing said bar means for free swinging movement in an opposite direction, and adjusting means coacting with said bar means for adjusting the angular position thereof when said bar means is in engagement with said stop means, said bar means being in the form of a single elongated bar pivotally connected to said upright wall portion, said adjusting means including a part of said upright wall portion formed with a series of openings situated along a circle whose center is in the turning axis of said bar means with respect to said wall portion, and a stop member forming said stop means and selectively located in one of said openings for engaging a lower free end portion of said bar means to limit the turning of the latter in one direction. 